


I Should Have Held On Tighter

by Moondancer2006



Series: They Took My Heart With You [1]
Category: Henry Stickman (Video Games), Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Asthma, Carol is a good friend, Chloe Moriondo - Freeform, Guilt, Harold has experience as a caregiver change my mind, Her music is pretty dope, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Sleep Deprivation, Sven just wants to stay awake, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, maybe? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:36:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26494981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moondancer2006/pseuds/Moondancer2006
Summary: Burt got arrested and now Sven has to deal with building a rocket by himself, with the bonus of crippling guilt.
Relationships: Burt Curtis & Sven Svensson, Burt Curtis/Sven Svensson
Series: They Took My Heart With You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926247
Comments: 1
Kudos: 52





	I Should Have Held On Tighter

When Reginald and Right Hand Man got arrested, Burt had been there for him. 

It had been a surprise for Sven, they hadn't really talked to each other much unless Sven needed to give urgent orders. But he'd stayed and helped him, and it was no surprise that Sven fell for him. 

When Burt, and a large portion of his faction, was taken by the Government, Sven ended up alone. 

And he had less than six months to build a rocket by himself. 

The paperwork and drafts were done, which was a relief, because Burt had helped him with that. 

He worked hard to help him, and Sven would not let his effort go to waste. 

He fiddled with the band-aid on his cheek, picking at its edges. 

It was cold, so he pulled his (Burt's) jacket on as he talked to Carol. 

"Ms Cross, I have some…business to attend to for a bit, so you're in charge while I'm gone. Call me if you need anything."

She looked at him suspiciously. 

"You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"

He didn't think he was, so he simply shook his head. 

She still seemed concerned, but as long as she didn't try to stop him, he didn't care. 

* * *

He arrived at the site they'd cleared out for the rocket. 

They had the support beams set up, and his heart ached when he looked at them. He remembered Burt standing next to him and discussing how they should be placed and what safety measures should be taken. 

He headed to the neatly sorted piles of materials that the previous leader had gotten for the project around the base, which were next to some cranes. 

Pulling a board to his work area, he pinned up the plans so he could refer to them whenever he needed. 

Six months. That was how long he had. 

It was time to begin. 

* * *

He was tired. And was running out of coffee. 

Worse comes to worse, he'd just use the armodafinil pills he'd dug up. 

On the bright side, he'd gotten the basic structure of the rocket built and was starting on the rooms and the plating.

Honestly, he felt pretty hysterical. 

Maybe he'd been awake for too long and his cat naps weren't working or there was something wrong with him. 

Carol had called him three times, each time was to inform him of more members being taken away by the Government. 

She'd taken his advice and moved base again, and they'd be overseas soon enough, hopefully detering the Government from coming for them for a short amount of time. 

Slumping to the ground, he took out his inhaler to try and ease the slight feeling of breathlessness. 

There was a thunderstorm nearby, though it seemed to be moving South-East, just missing the site. 

A feeling of regret stirred inside of him. He should have been there. 

He should have been with the Toppats who were captured, with Reginald and his Right Hand Man when they were clashing with the Government, he should have acted faster when that soldier pointed his gun at him. 

Burt wouldn't be in jail if he'd just been _better._

His back ached. 

Sighing, he wished that Burt was with him. He would have wrapped his arms around him and played with his hair, that always did calm him down. 

He promised himself he'd go back for him. He swore on his life that he wouldn't let Burt or any of the other Toppats rot in jail. 

* * *

Burt had introduced him to Chloe Moroindo. Sven liked her voice, and listening to her sometimes helped him relax. 

One of her songs played in the background as he groaned from where he laid on the ground, pinned by Carol. 

_The ceiling's spinning_

_And I think God is winning_

"What the fuck, sir."

"I-I can't…Get off please."

"Oh. Sorry."

She shifted, gripping his shoulders and pulling him up. 

He's so, so tired. 

It'd been raining recently and his entire body was trembling, he felt cold.

_Cause I see my hands shaking_

_And I cannot make them stop_

"Is this where you've been the entire time?"

"I'm sorry, I don't—I can't, I'm sorry—"

He's terrified and he doesn't know why. It's just Carol, there's nothing to be afraid of. 

But he's failed them all. He didn't know if he could do it. He'd been triple checking everything he'd been doing because he'd been making so many mistakes and he can't—

He can't break down in front of her. He's supposed to be strong. 

For the Toppats. 

_Fish swim so quickly_

_I feel so fucking guilty_

There's so little of them left. Why can't he keep them safe? How pathetic can he be? 

He's failed them. He knew he had. 

His dads, Earrings, Toby, his friends. 

And he failed Burt. 

He'd lost them and he didn't know how to bring them back. He was tired of trying to be optimistic. 

There was no point. 

_And I miss all of my friends_

_Please, where did they go?_

"-ven? Svensson."

He felt someone picking him up and carrying him somewhere. He felt like a child again. 

"It started raining pretty heavily again."

A weight was dropped on his shoulder, but it's warm and comforting. He felt someone ruffling his hair with a towel. His hair fluffed up uncontrollably because of that, but he didn't notice. 

Someone settled next to him, and an arm wrapped around his shoulder, gently nudging him to lean against them. 

"...Thank you, Ms Cross."

"Go to sleep, kid. We'll talk tomorrow."

He closed his eyes, and for the first time in weeks, he felt warm. 

* * *

Carol flipped through Sven's notebook, which was covered in messy scrawls and scribbles, as he slept. 

She hummed thoughtfully as she read the note 'Missing some engine parts!' that Sven seemed to have almost stabbed onto the paper. 

He'd made quite a bit of progress, in all honesty. She doubted that he'd allowed himself to even sleep for an hour straight before she came along. Little naps maybe, but not long enough to help him be less tired. 

Glancing over at the trash bin concernedly, which was already filled with coffee cups and a couple pill boxes, she couldn't help a small huff of humourless laughter. 

Man, if Reginald was here, he'd have a fit over how his kid was treating himself.

She stared at the calendar, flipping through the pages to the deadline that had been set. 

Whether it was set by Reginald or Sven himself, it didn't matter, because Sven seemed set on reaching it for whatever reason. 

Five months. They could work with that. 

* * *

Sven woke up feeling feverish, which was surprising to literally no one else but him. The tent was dimly lit, which he liked. It was calming. 

He sat up and looked around blearily. 

"Are you lucid?" Harold ruffled his hair, then passed him a bottle of water. "Here you go. You had us all worried."

Saying nothing, he took a sip from the bottle. His throat hurt. 

He was still tired.

"Sorry…What's happening?"

"You just continue to rest, we'll discuss it later, how about that?" Harold took the bottle back and placed it on the overbed table near Sven. 

Not really feeling up to arguing, he just murmured some unintelligible and covered himself with the blanket again, turning onto his side.

He dozed off. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Song is Spaceland by Chloe Moriondo
> 
> Carol is a good friend of Reginald, so she feels like it's kinda her responsibilty to take care of her ex-leader's dumb son.


End file.
